The skies between China and Vietnam’s most talked-about island destination are getting busier. China Eastern Airlines has launched a new nonstop route between Shanghai and Phu Quoc, offering travelers in China’s commercial capital a direct gateway to the sunlit beaches, emerald waters, and resort-lined shores of Vietnam’s largest island. For Shanghai-based holidaymakers and business travelers alike, the new service marks a timely addition to the winter and spring schedule and signals how quickly Phu Quoc is rising as a favorite short-haul escape in Southeast Asia.
A New Air Bridge from Shanghai to Vietnam’s Island Escape
China Eastern’s new Shanghai Pudong to Phu Quoc service is scheduled as a nonstop link operated primarily by Airbus A320neo aircraft, with some rotations flown by the A320. The airline has filed the route for the first quarter of 2026, with departures from Shanghai Pudong in the late evening and arrivals into Phu Quoc shortly after midnight local time. According to schedule data, the planned operational window runs from early February to mid March 2026, using a daily pattern tailored to peak winter travel demand between China and Southeast Asia.
The flight operates under China Eastern flight numbers MU7237 and MU7238. From Shanghai, MU7237 departs at around 21:30, arriving in Phu Quoc in the early hours of the following day. The return, MU7238, leaves Phu Quoc before dawn and lands back in Shanghai mid-morning, positioning well for connecting traffic at the carrier’s major hub. The typical journey time on this direct leg is about five hours and twenty minutes, cutting out the need for any domestic transfer within Vietnam.
Prior to this launch, passengers traveling from Shanghai to Phu Quoc largely relied on one-stop itineraries via Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi, operated by airlines such as VietJet Air and Vietnam Airlines. Those options often turned a relatively short regional hop into an eight to ten hour journey, with layovers and schedule constraints. China Eastern’s nonstop service changes the equation considerably, positioning Phu Quoc as a realistic long weekend or four-night getaway from Shanghai rather than a more involved multi-stop trip.
Phu Quoc’s Rapid Ascent as a Chinese Holiday Favorite
The new Shanghai route is not an isolated move. Over the last two years, China Eastern has steadily woven Phu Quoc into its broader network, adding seasonal and charter-style services from key Chinese cities. Flights from Beijing to Phu Quoc began in January 2025 as a daily service over the Lunar New Year period, while Xi’an also gained direct connections on selected dates from late 2024 and into early 2025. These routes have primarily targeted holidaymakers seeking warm-weather escapes during China’s peak winter travel season.
This pattern of expansion reflects how quickly Phu Quoc has moved up the hierarchy of favored destinations for outbound Chinese travelers. Once better known to domestic Vietnamese tourists and regional visitors from places like South Korea and Russia, the island has now caught the attention of travelers from China’s first-tier cities. Recognition from international travel media, including rankings that place Phu Quoc among the world’s most beautiful islands, has added to its appeal, reinforcing its image as a more relaxed, resort-style alternative to more urbanized Vietnamese destinations.
For China Eastern, the island’s growing profile fits neatly with its strategy of connecting Chinese hubs to emerging leisure hotspots. In the same period that it has opened ultra-long-haul corridors such as Shanghai to Buenos Aires via Auckland, the airline has also been investing in mid-range regional routes that can be served efficiently with single-aisle aircraft. Phu Quoc’s combination of resort infrastructure, visa-friendly policies for many nationalities, and supportive local authorities makes it a logical candidate for focused growth out of Shanghai.
Route Details: Schedules, Aircraft and Onboard Experience
The Shanghai to Phu Quoc route is operated from Shanghai Pudong International Airport, one of China Eastern’s primary hubs. From Phu Quoc’s perspective, the service uses Phu Quoc International Airport, still commonly associated with its IATA code PQC and historically linked with the island’s main town of Duong Dong. For passengers, this means a straightforward gateway that is close to the bulk of the island’s resort corridors running down the western and southern coasts.
On most days, China Eastern is deploying its Airbus A320neo on the route, part of a new-generation narrowbody fleet that offers improved fuel efficiency and a more comfortable cabin environment compared with older aircraft. Some rotations are scheduled with the A320ceo variant, depending on fleet and seasonal planning. Typical configurations on China Eastern’s A320-family aircraft include a small business class cabin with recliner-style seats and a larger economy class section, making the flight suitable both for leisure travelers and premium passengers connecting to longer-haul services from Shanghai.
The late-night departure from Shanghai allows travelers to work a full day in the city before heading to Pudong and checking in for their island escape. On arrival in Phu Quoc just after midnight, passengers can clear immigration, transfer to their resorts, and wake up ready to start their holiday. The early-morning return timing, while demanding an early wake-up, enables same-day onward connections across China Eastern’s domestic and regional network, including flights to northern and western Chinese cities.
Strategic Significance for China Eastern and Vietnam Tourism
The Shanghai to Phu Quoc launch comes against a backdrop of strong recovery in outbound travel demand from China. Official data and industry research have highlighted a sharp rebound in international journeys, with Southeast Asia once again among the most popular regional choices for Chinese travelers. Vietnam has been a particular beneficiary, with several of its coastal destinations seeing double-digit growth in international arrivals from China and other Asian markets.
For Vietnam, additional air capacity from a major carrier like China Eastern is more than just a route announcement. Each new nonstop service broadens the country’s exposure to city pairs that might once have been seen as peripheral. Shanghai’s high concentration of affluent, experience-seeking travelers, along with its role as a corporate and financial center, makes it a valuable origin market. The presence of a direct flight can quickly influence tour operator programming, promote hotel and resort development, and encourage further marketing partnerships.
China Eastern also benefits on several fronts. By adding a distinctive leisure destination to its network from Shanghai, the airline can diversify away from purely business and visiting-friends-and-relatives traffic. The Phu Quoc service supports seasonal demand spikes, particularly around the Lunar New Year and spring travel periods, when many Chinese families and groups are looking for short-haul sunshine escapes. Additionally, positioning Phu Quoc as part of a wider Southeast Asia offering helps the airline compete more effectively with low cost rivals and regional carriers that have historically dominated segments of this market.
What the New Route Means for Travelers in Shanghai
For travelers based in Shanghai and the surrounding Yangtze River Delta, the new route brings Phu Quoc firmly into the category of easy-access island breaks. With a nonstop flight time of around five hours and twenty minutes, the journey is comparable to flying from Shanghai to destinations like Bangkok or Singapore. For many urban residents juggling time constraints, the ability to board a late-night flight on Friday and wake up at a beach resort on Saturday morning is a compelling proposition.
The route is already visible on major schedule and fare search platforms, with China Eastern appearing as the only carrier currently operating nonstop between Shanghai and Phu Quoc. Competing one-stop itineraries, often involving transfers in Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi, still exist but generally require significantly longer travel times. As more Chinese travelers weigh up options for winter and early spring vacations, the convenience of a direct service is likely to be a strong selling point, especially for family groups and travelers who prefer to avoid the complexity of connections.
Shanghai’s extensive high-speed rail and domestic flight network also means that the catchment area for the new route extends beyond the city itself. Passengers from nearby cities in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces can connect through Pudong to reach Phu Quoc in a single seamless journey, potentially boosting load factors and encouraging China Eastern to consider extending or repeating the service in future seasons if demand holds up.
On the Ground: Why Phu Quoc Appeals to Chinese Visitors
For visitors arriving from Shanghai, Phu Quoc offers a blend of tropical scenery, modern resort facilities, and gradually diversifying attractions. The island is known for its long ribbons of sandy beach, including the much-photographed Bai Kem and other stretches along the southwest coast. Over the past decade, large-scale resort complexes, golf courses, beach clubs, and integrated entertainment areas have transformed key parts of the coastline, adding a level of comfort and convenience that resonates with many travelers from China’s big cities.
Phu Quoc’s tourism offer extends beyond beaches. Inland, the island features protected forest areas, waterfalls, pepper farms, and fishing villages, giving visitors a sense of local culture and landscape. Night markets and seafood restaurants, particularly around the main towns, have become popular stops for evening outings, while island-hopping boat tours and snorkel trips showcase coral reefs and smaller islets off the main coast. For Chinese travelers who may already be familiar with destinations such as Sanya in Hainan or Phuket in Thailand, Phu Quoc presents a slightly less saturated alternative with a distinct Vietnamese flavor.
Language and services tailored to Chinese guests are becoming more common as arrivals have increased. Hotels and resorts are gradually adding Mandarin-speaking staff, adapting food and beverage offerings, and incorporating payment systems widely used in China. These efforts, combined with the availability of direct flights, can significantly lower the perceived barrier to trying a new destination and help foster repeat visits.
Integration with Broader China Vietnam Air Connectivity
The Shanghai Phu Quoc route fits into a broader pattern of tightening air links between China and Vietnam. Phu Quoc already handles a growing mix of flights from regional hubs such as Seoul, Singapore, and Taipei, as well as charter and seasonal services from Central Asia and Eastern Europe. On peak days the island can see upward of two dozen international flights, a substantial number for a destination that, a decade ago, was still relatively off the main tourist map.
Within this mosaic, China Eastern’s move has both symbolic and practical implications. Symbolically, it shows one of China’s largest carriers recognizing Phu Quoc as a destination with enough pull to justify direct connectivity from multiple Chinese cities, not just Beijing or Xi’an but also Shanghai, where competition for leisure routes is intense. Practically, it creates new itinerary possibilities, such as multi-stop trips that link Phu Quoc with mainland Vietnamese cities or other Southeast Asian points accessible via Shanghai.
The presence of a SkyTeam member on the route may also open incremental opportunities for frequent flyers, who can now earn and redeem miles on a direct service to a resort island that was previously harder to reach. At the same time, the competitive response from other airlines will be worth watching, particularly from low cost carriers that may view Shanghai Phu Quoc as a ripe market for additional capacity or promotional fares.
Looking Ahead: Seasonal Route or Future Mainstay
While the currently filed schedule for the Shanghai to Phu Quoc route runs from early February to mid March 2026, industry observers will be closely tracking how it performs and whether China Eastern chooses to extend, repeat, or expand the service in later seasons. The airline has a track record of testing new leisure routes on a limited-time basis during peak periods, then deciding whether to maintain them depending on load factors, yields, and broader market conditions.
If the combination of strong outbound demand from Shanghai and the island’s continued rise as a high-profile resort destination continues, the route has the potential to evolve beyond a seasonal niche. Extended operating windows or additional frequencies during shoulder seasons could follow, and other Chinese carriers may also explore their own approaches to serving Phu Quoc. For now, however, the focus will be on the initial operational period, giving Shanghai travelers their first sustained direct access to Vietnam’s headline island paradise.
For readers and would-be travelers, the message is clear. With China Eastern’s new nonstop connection, Phu Quoc has never been closer to Shanghai. Whether it is a long weekend by the pool, a family holiday by the sea, or a combined itinerary linking Vietnam’s cities and coastline, the door is now open for more Chinese visitors to discover why this once-sleepy island has become one of Southeast Asia’s most talked-about beach escapes.